{"id":58993,"date":"2023-09-09T15:56:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T19:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/news\/we-are-surprised-and-bewildered-my-brother-passed-away-and-left-his-house-cash-and-possessions-to-charity-can-his-siblings-contest-his-will\/"},"modified":"2023-09-09T15:56:03","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T19:56:03","slug":"we-are-surprised-and-bewildered-my-brother-passed-away-and-left-his-house-cash-and-possessions-to-charity-can-his-siblings-contest-his-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=58993","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We are surprised and bewildered\u2019: My brother passed away and left his house, cash and possessions to charity. Can his siblings contest his will?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"js-article__body\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0001267363\" role=\"document\">\n<h2><strong>Dear Quentin,<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>My brother just recently passed away in June. Instead of leaving his belongings to his siblings, he chose to donate to charity \u2014 that is, his home, furnishings and all of his remaining cash. I don\u2019t understand why he would make such a decision. We are surprised and bewildered. He has left a will outlining his wishes for his estate, but can this will be contested?<\/p>\n<p>Surprised Sister<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n<h2><strong>Dear Sister,<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If he wanted you to inherit his estate, all he would have to do is make no will at all.<\/p>\n<p>Few people like such surprises, and no one likes to be left with a question mark. You may or may not have had a good relationship with your brother. In the event that you had no reason to assume bad blood between your brother and his siblings, it\u2019s always best to assume that other people\u2019s decisions have nothing to do with you. Don\u2019t take it personally.<\/p>\n<p>There are times when there are grounds for wills to be contested: a parent who was being controlled by a \u201cnew person\u201d in their life or an abusive child, and\/or someone who was forced to change their will when they were not of sound mind. In this case, however, it seems like your brother knew exactly what he was doing, and wanted to support his favorite charities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There is another issue of need vs. want and love vs. money. You would have liked for your brother to leave you money, but he believe others had less and needed more help. You don\u2019t say anything in your letter about being in dire financial straits. This was his way to give back. The fact that he did not leave you money does not mean he did not love you, but you can love him more by supporting his last wishes.<\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetPullQuote\n            inline\n    scope-web|mobileapps\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetPullQuote\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<p>          <!-- eventually when we know what this card will be we can change it and leave this one --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wsj-article-pullquote article__inset__pullquote \">\n<p class=\"pullquote-content article__inset__pullquote__quote\">\n        <span class=\"l-qt article__inset__pullquote__mark--left\">\u201c<\/span> You are not direct heirs (a parent or child); as siblings, you are collateral descendants. <span class=\"r-qt article__inset__pullquote__mark--right\">\u201d<\/span>\n      <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A will can generally be contested on one of three grounds: lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence from a family member, and improper execution. The latter is often the easiest and most common way a will is contested and\/or overturned: Say the will was improperly witnessed or not signed, or perhaps a later will exists, or there was some evidence of fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Your brother did not mention the family in the will to specifically disinherit them. A person may state they intend to disinherit their family, or alternatively, leave them a small amount but state that they will forfeit even that small amount in the event they contest the will. That was not the case here. You and your siblings could argue that your absence was an omission.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, you are not direct heirs (a parent or child); you are collateral descendants. That, plus the fact that your brother\u2019s will appears to be valid \u2014 as you don\u2019t mention anything untoward about the will itself \u2014 indicates to me that you should accept your brother\u2019s wishes. Feeling aggrieved that you did not inherit his estate is not enough to break his will.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Check out\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>the Moneyist private Facebook<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong><em>group, where we look for answers to life\u2019s thorniest money issues. Readers write in to me with all sorts of dilemmas. Post your questions, tell me what you want to know more about, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>By emailing your questions, you agree to having them published anonymously on MarketWatch. By submitting your story to Dow Jones &amp; Co., the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u2018I have no guilt\u2019: My stepfather will leave me his $1 million home. How do I protect my inheritance from his two biological children?<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I spend $600 a month taking women out for dinner and drinks\u2019: Does the man always have to pick up the check on a first date?<\/p>\n<p>My brother pays my mother\u2019s mortgage and co-owns her home. How can I ensure that my other sibling and I each inherit 1\/3 share?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/we-are-surprised-and-bewildered-my-brother-passed-away-and-left-his-house-cash-and-possessions-to-charity-can-his-siblings-contest-his-will-11665414593?mod=personal-finance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Quentin, My brother just recently passed away in June. Instead of leaving his belongings to his siblings, he chose to donate to charity \u2014 that is, his home, furnishings and all of his remaining cash. I don\u2019t understand why he would make such a decision. We are surprised and bewildered. He has left a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-58993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u2018We are surprised and bewildered\u2019: My brother passed away and left his house, cash and possessions to charity. Can his siblings contest his will? | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dear Quentin, My brother just recently passed away in June. 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